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Getting the volume of an exhaust note right is a delicate balancing act for supercar makers. It has to be loud enough to excite enthusiasts, but not so loud that it falls foul of regulations. Aston Martin says it has struck that sweet spot with its latest model, the Valen.

The Valen is a bespoke model derived from the current Vanquish and built by Aston Martin’s bespoke division, Q. With 838 horsepower coming from its twin-turbo 5.2-litre V-12, the Valen is no weak performer when it comes to acceleration. Even so, the most compelling element of this limited-production supercar may well be its exhaust. Its asymmetrical quad-tip exhaust makes the car 50 percent louder than the Vanquish on which it is based. Aston Martin says it wanted to prioritise the sensations experienced from behind the wheel of the Valen, and the routing of the exhaust system was central to that objective.

“This has to be a thrilling car at low speed. The attribute of going really fast and all that is easy now, because of EVs and everything else. What people talk to us about is, to give us back the feeling,” Alex Long, managing director of special vehicle operations at Aston Martin Lagonda, said during a media roundtable ahead of the car’s Monterey Car Week launch. “We want lots of sound. We know you're up against particulate filters and all the other stuff that's coming from hybridisation—but we wanted to build something broad, something really loud, as loud as you can.”

“And build something that, when I drive it, I feel it at all speeds,” he continued. “Cars nowadays come alive dynamically at super high speeds—beyond almost highway speeds—and that's taking the thrill away from being able to go and enjoy a car on a drive. The exhaust strategy is an integral part of that.”

The system begins at the rear of the 5.2-litre V-12, where it is split into 12 individual titanium header pipes. Because the engine sits behind the front axle, the headers are positioned closer to the cabin than they would be in most front-engined vehicles, which adds a few extra decibels inside. Long said the Valen does not use any artificially integrated exhaust sound in the cabin, and in fact features less sound-deadening material. The pipes then run directly beneath the seats, adding another layer of vibrational feedback, before merging into four separate exhaust outlets.

But the sound engineering does not end there. The Valen’s titanium tips are divided into upper and lower levels: the upper exhausts stay open all the time, while the lower ones use valves controlled by drive mode and throttle position. The sharply angled routing of these exhaust pipes also serves another purpose, as it allows the boot to retain six cubic feet of luggage space. Even so, Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman admitted that the effort to create a thunderous exhaust note did lead to some packaging compromises.

“Normally, you open a trunk, and you've got those areas on the side of the trunk; you don't have a lot of that now because that exhaust mounts through there. If you think of the reason you want this car, it's so that people can hear you, first of all. Therefore, we decided to compromise on the total width and volume of the trunk, but still give it a usable trunk,” Reichman said.

Aston Martin did not reveal exactly how many decibels the Valen can produce, but it did make clear that owners will not need to be travelling at outrageous speeds to enjoy the engine note. Long explained that the exhaust reaches its peak sonic rate at around 2500 rpm. That means the Valen is not dramatically louder than its sibling models at wide-open throttle, which helps it remain compliant with current noise regulations.

“How often do you see 6000 rpm in a daily drive? Very rarely. Anything beyond second gear, there goes your license,” Long said. “The idea is very loud, low speed, more enjoyable, and so that's how it's being represented. On the inside of the car, it's all about natural sound.”